Bell rod swivel support



4 Sheets-Sheet '1.

Aim/u)? 6 NKEE July 5, 1932. A. G. M KEE BELL ROD SWIVEL SUPPORT Filed Jan. 29, 1931 N n EtE: EEEE M n i M 4 4 U 5 M, W3 1i \\x W U July 5, 1932.

A. G. M KEE BELL ROD SWIVEL SUPPORT Filed Jan. 29, 1931 4 Sheets-meet 2 July 5, 1932. A. G. McKEE 1,865,476

BELL ROD SWIVEL SUPPORT Filed Jan. 29, 1931 4 SheetsSheet 5 gwumtoz ARTHUR 6. M AA-Z A. G. McKEE 1,865,476

L ROD SWIVEL su Patented July 5, 1932 1,865,476

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR G. MCKEE, or CLEVELAND, OHIO BELL Ron swrvnr. sUrroR'r Application filed January 29, 1931. Serial No. 511,969.

This invention relates to blast furnaces therefore, to provide a swivel joint for the and, more particularly, to an improved swivel small bell rod of a revolving distributor blast joint for the small bell rod of blast furnace furnace top which is absolutely dust tight and tops of the revolving distributor type. which may be easily repaired or replaced 7 In charging ore, coke and limestone into without removal of other parts of the blast 55 the top of a blast furnace it is important that furnace structure and without interfering the charges be distributedas evenly as pos with the maintenance of the blast furnace sible. This even distribution is facilitated Operation.

by the use of what is commonly known as the A further object of my invention is the 10 revolving distributor top. In the operation provlslonof a swivel joint for blast furnace no of this type of apparatus a charge of material bell rods 111 which frictlon and wear are reis dumped from the skip car into a revolv'able duced to a minimum.

distributor chamber or hopper. As the skip A further object of my invention is the car dumps into this revolvable hopper from provision of a bell rod swivel joint which will one side, the tendency is for the load to be last during the entire campaign or running 65 positioned more on one sideof the hopper period of a furnace without repair or replacethan on the other. It is undesirable to trans- Inent.

fer this unequal loading to the large bell as The above and other objects of my inventhis would result in uneven distribution of. tion will be seen from the following descripthe charge in the furnace. To prevent this tion of a preferred form thereof, reference 70 the distributor hopper, after the skip car has being had to the accompanying drawings in been dumped into it, is rotated a certain which:

amount and the charge then dropped upon Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a blast furnace the large bell. Each successive hopper load'is top of the revolving distributor type.

"7 rotated a different amount before it is dropped Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional 75 on the large bell and thus the large bell will View of my improved swivel bearing. receive a uniformly distributed charge. The Fig. 3 is a cross section of the swivel joint small distributor closing 'bellis then closed taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

and the main bell lowered allowing the uni- Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 U formly distributed charge to drop into the of Fig. 2. 80

furnace. In the construction of this type of Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 5-5 furnace top, it is ordinary practice to have the of Fig.2.

bell rod which operates the large bell extend Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-6 up through a hollow concentric bell rod which of Fig. 2.

' operates the small bell. As this small bell In Fig. 1, the essential parts of arevolving 85 must necessarily rotate with the revolving distributor type of blast furnace top are illusdistributor it becomes necessary to provide trated. The top of the furnace 1, carries the some sort of swivel joint in the tubular small main charging chamber 2 which is adapted bell rod. This joint must withhold the to be closed by the large bell 3. The re- 10 weight of the bell and the weight of the charge volving distributor chamber hwhich is prefdeposited thereon and, as it operates in an aterably cylindrical, is rotatably mounted at mosphere which is constantly laden with ore, 5 on the top of the main charge chamber 2. coke and limestone dust, it is important that The distributor tmay be rotatably supported this swivel joint be absolutely dust tight. It in any, suitable manner. A bevel ring gear is also important that this joint be so con- 5 is secured tothe outside of the distributor structed that it may be removed and replaced 4 and is adapted to be engaged by a small without having to remove the large bell or bevel gear 5". The bevel gear 5" may be otherwise disturbing the furnace top strucdriven by any suitable means such as a motor ture. M to rotate the distributor 4. This rotating It is among the objects of my invention distributor extends down into the main charging chamber 2 and is adapted to be closed by the small bell 6. The charges of ore, coke and limestone which are discharged from the skip hoist 7 drop into the distributor 4 through the non-rotating hopper 8.

The large bell 3 is supported by the bell rod 9 which extends upwardly and is pivotally connected by suitable linkage to the beam 10. This beam is counterweighted at 11 and may be provided with any suitable means (not shown) for raising and lowering the bell hopper. The small bell 6 is supported by the tubular bell rod 12 which surrounds the bell rod 9 of the large bell 3 and is pivotally connected by the links 13 to one end of the pivoted counterweighted beam 14. It will be understood that suitable means (not shown) for moving the arm 14 to lift and lower the small bell may be provided.

I have illustrated a number of wear rings 15 which are slipped over the tubular bell rod 12 and serve to prevent undue abrasive wear on the bell rod 12 due to the flow of slag, ore, and coke thereover. The small bell 6 is adapted to rotate with the rotating distributor 4 and, to facilitate and permit this rotation, a swivel joint, generally indicated at 16, is provided in the tubular small bell rod 12.

From the position of the swivel joint 16 as illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be seen that this joint must support the weight of the bell 6 and the bell rod 12 together with the weight of the charge which is deposited in the rotating distributor 4. As it is located directly above the open top of the hopper 8, it is sub jected to the abrasive action of the dust, which necessarily arises when the skip hoist 7 is dumped.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, my improved swivel joint includes a pair of split lower sections A and a pair of split upper sections B. The two lower sections are secured firmly together by the bolts 17 and 18 to form a substantially tubular member into the lower end of which the tubular small bell-rod 12 Y may be suitably secured as by the screw threads indicated at 19. The bell-rod 9 which supports the large bell 3 extends up through the cylindrical opening in the lower sections A and the parts are so proportioned that the large bell rod 9 may move freely through the central opening in the swivel joint of the small bell rod. A circular flange 20 having flat top and bottom surfaces is formed on the parts A approximately midway of their ends.

The upper members'B surround the tubular upwardly extending part 21 of the members ber 23 which is secured to the members B by the bolts 24. The lower end of the cupshaped member 23 is provided with an aperture in which the lower cylindrical portion of the members A has a relatively close fit. The joints between the members A and the cup-shaped part 23 are adapted to be made dust tight by the packing 25, which may be held in position by the adjustable ring 26 in well known manner. This packing gland forms a dust tight joint between the nonrotating upper members B and the rotatable lower members A and prevents the entry of dust through the bottom joint to the bearing.

Rings of packing 27 and 28, which are disposed between the non-rotating parts B and the rotatable inner member A serve to form dust tight joints between the upper ends thereof.

To reduce friction as much as possible, I have provided a roller type of thrust bearing which is disposed between the flange 20 and the bottom portion of the cup members 23. A plurality of rolls 29 are disposed between hardened steel races 30 and 31. These rolls 29 are separated and held in their proper po sitions by the separator 32 (Fig. 4). The races 30 and 31 are each split into two parts, as are all of the parts of my improved joint. As best seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the splits in the races are made at an angle to the radial line through the point of the split so that vibration and wear caused by the rolls passing over the joints between the two halves of the races will be reduced to a minimum.

Trunnions 32 and 33 are formed on the nonrotating upper part B of the joint and form bearings for the links 13 which connect the joint to the ends of the counterweight lever The roller bearings may be lubricated through suitable holes 34 and it will be seen by those skilled in the art that I have provi ded an improved swivel joint construction which may be easily assembled and taken down, and which is particularly adapted for use in rotating distributor top blast furnaces.

Although I have illustrated and described one embodiment of my invention in some detail, it will be seen by those skilled inthe art that variations and modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I do not therefore, limit myself to the precise deta ls shown and described, but claim as my invention all embodiments thereof coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a tubular bell rod,

means for operating said bell rod, a tubular member secured to the upper end of said bell rod and having an outwardly extending flange portion, an outer tubular member having a cup-shaped portion enclosing said flange, said outer tubular member having link connection to said means for operating said rod, and a roller bearing between said flange and the cup-shaped portion of said outer tubular member adapted to sustain the load on said bell rod and to permit free relative rotation between said tubular members.

2. In combination, a tubular bell rod, means for operating said bell rod, a tubular member secured to the upper end of said bell rod and having an outwardly extending flange portion, an outer tubular member having a cup-shaped portion enclosing said flange, said outer tubular member having link connection to said means for operating said rod, and a roller bearing between said flange and the cup-shaped portion of said outer tubular member adapted to sustain the load on said bell rod and to permit free relative rotation between said tubular members and packing means for preventing the entry of dust to said cup-shaped member and said bearing.

3. In combination, a tubular bell rod, means for operating said bell rod, a tubular member secured to the upper end of said bell rod and having an outwardly extending flange portion, an outer tubular member having a cup-shaped portion enclosing said flange, said outer tubular member having link connection to said means for operating said rod, and a roller bearing between said flange and the cup-shaped portion of said outer tubular member adapted to sustain the load on said bell rod and to permit free relative rotation between said tubular members and packing means for preventing the entry of dust to said cup-shaped member and said bearing, each of the parts of said swivel joint being split, whereby they may be assembled and disassembled about a central rod extending through said tubular member.

4;. A swivel joint of the type described, comprising a tubular member having an outwardly extending flange, a second tubular member concentrically enclosing said flange and rotatable relative thereto, a roller thrust bearing between said flange and said second tubular member and means for sealing said bearing against the entry of dust thereto.

5. A swivel joint of the type described comprising an outer tubular member and an inner relatively rotatable tubular member, a roller thrust bearing adapted to maintain said members in spaced relation and means for sealing said bearing against the entry of dust thereto.

6. A swivel joint comprising relatively rotatable portions with a thrust bearing therebetween, said thrust bearing including a pair of split races and a plurality of rollers disposed between said races, each of said races being split into two parts on non-radial lines.

7. A swivel joint comprising relatively rotatable portions with a thrust bearing therebetween, said thrust bearing including a pair of split races and a plurality of rollers disposed between'said races, each of said races being split into two parts on non-radial lines and means for sealing said bearing against the entry of dust thereto.

' 8. In a swivel joint for blast furnace bell rods, the combination of an annular roller bearing having non-radially split races, a split cylindrical member extending through said bearing and having an outwardly extending flange adapted to engage one of said bearing races, an outer split cylindrical member disposed around said first named cylindrical member, said outer cylindrical member being adapted to enclose said flange and bearing and having a portion adapted to engage the other of said bearing races, packing means between said cylindrical members on each side of said bearing and trunnions on said outer member.

9. A swivel joint comprising a flanged tubular member, an outer tubular member disposed about and enclosing the flange of said first named tubular member and a roller thrust bearing enclosed within said outer member and adapted to separate said tubular members whereby they are freely rotatable relative to each other.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this 19th day of January, 1931.

ARTHUR G. MoKEE. 

